History from Below

 

“History from Below” is an approach in historiography that focuses on the experiences of ordinary people. It highlights the movements and contributions of marginalized and oppressed groups. This approach opposes and challenges the elite and popular histories. It emerged in the mid-20^th century. The important historians associated with this approach are E.P. Thompson, Eric Hobsbawm, and Christopher Hill.

ü  E.P. Thompson: His book, The Making of the English Working Class recovers the voices and struggles of working-class individuals during the Industrial Revolution.

ü  Eric Hobsbawm: His important books in this regard are: Primitive Rebels, Bandits and Labouring Men: Studies in the History of Labour

Features of “History from Below”

ü History of Common People: This approach focuses on the lives, struggles, perspectives and contributions of ordinary people. It explored the experiences of peasants, workers, women, ethnic minorities, and colonized peoples.

ü  Everyday Life and Culture: This approach examines the everyday life, including family structures, religious practices, and cultural traditions of ordinary people.

ü  Role of Ordinary People in History: This approach shows the role of ordinary people in shaping history.

ü  Oral History and Alternative Sources: Historians of this approach use unconventional sources, such as folk traditions, oral history, life history, local records, diaries, letters and so on.

ü  Interdisciplinary Approach: It combines the sources and methods of sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science.

ü  Criticism of Elite History: It challenges the idea that history is shaped by the elites. They exhibited the role of common people in historical movements.

Thus, this approach influenced women’s history, gender history, subaltern studies, Dalit history and histories of other marginalized groups.